1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method and an information processing system, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus and method and an information processing system by which provision of appropriate information can be accepted.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, a method of providing information from a server or the like to a terminal apparatus through a network is available. For example, a method of distributing information from a server to a terminal apparatus registered in advance in the server is available. However, according to this method, there is the possibility that the server may provide information also to a terminal apparatus which does not demand the information.
Thus, a method has been proposed which implements appropriate provision of information, that is, provision of information only to a terminal apparatus which demands the information as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-215975 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1). According to the method of Patent Document 1, each terminal apparatus issues a request for desired information to a server, and the server provides the requested information to the terminal apparatus of the source of the request.
More particularly, in Patent Document 1, a digital portable telephone set 3 downloads a musical composition name list file from a laptop personal computer 2 in response to an operation of the user and displays a musical composition name list on a display section 21 in accordance with the musical composition name list file. Then, the digital portable telephone set 3 downloads a music file selected from within the displayed musical composition name list by the user from the laptop personal computer 2 or a music file server 6 and then reproduces the music file to output sound through a headphone 7.